The Belt of Truth
The foundation of the Armor of God is the Belt of Truth. The Roman soldier's belt was a wide piece of leather that covered the vital organs and will be used as a foundation for the rest of the armor. God's truth is very much the same. To know His Truth is to lay the foundation of all of our beliefs. For without that foundation we will be swept away.
What is the foundation of Truth? It is found in Genesis chapters 1-11, and you could throw 12 in there as well. If you don't understand these first few chapters of the Bible, or if you don't believe them, the rest of the Bible doesn't really make sense. There is so much amazing information in these first few chapters that give us the prescription to be able to see the world clearly through the lense of the Bible. This is called a Biblical World View.
Think about how the cowboy's belt works. It is necessary for a couple of reasons:
To keep his pants in place
To hold his tools, like his knife, his gloves, nowadays his phone, and sometimes his gun.
Why the belt buckle? It is not your average belt buckle with the bar, prong, and frame. The cowboy's buckle has just a simple bar and hook. This is a safety feature. This came to full understanding one day when one of the #VirtuousCowgirls was out for a ride. As she was dismounting she leaned too far forward and her belt got hung up on the saddle horn. She didn't realize this until she couldn't get her feet to the ground. There she was, stuck on the side of her horse with her belt caught on the horn. I went over to help her, but with a traditional buckle I couldn't release the belt, there was too much tension. I am not sure why, but the thought of cutting the belt did not come to mind, so I pushed her back up on the horse, which was very uncomfortable with being stuck on the horn, but she was able to get back in the seat and unhook her belt. We had a good laugh and a good discussion about proper dismounting and always being mindful of what we are doing, and also why cowboys wear their simple belt buckles. If she had been wearing a traditional western belt buckle, we could have popped the buckle lose and saved her the pain. However, the Lord lets us learn these lessons so we remember them. His hand was in this the whole time as this young lady was riding one of our newer horses to the program who needed more miles before we allowed just anyone to ride him. He was very unsure of what to do in this situation, but he stood very patiently. Let me tell you, it could have ended very poorly, he could have been scared by her being suck to him like that, I can't image the force the saddle was pulling on his back, he could have taken off, bucked, ran into things, fallen with the off balance, and she could have been seriously hurt. Thank the Lord, that horse stood quiet. I know it was the Lord that made that horse stand, because that horse did not make it in our program. He was never really bad; he just didn't live up to the expectations that we have for our horses. He now lives with one of our other #VirtuousCowgirls and he is loving life, and the family is loving him. That is a success story. Making sure we have the right tools to work, and a good foundation to live on is very important. It is of utmost important in our lives, and equally important in our horsemanship. Proverbs 4:5 tells us to get wisdom. James 1:5 says if we lack wisdom we are to ask God for it and He will give generously. Dr. Robert Jeffress says, "Wisdom is the ability to live according to God's pattern in all areas of life." Make sure you have the Belt of Truth fastened around, surrounding you, so you have that foundation to stand firm on. #CornerstoneVerseOfTheDay
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